How poisonous our meal is

In Part 1 of this series of articles it was described how chronic toxicity tends to get overlooked or ignored by people. It was also explained that chronic toxins provoked the immune system to cause inflammation and an overwhelmed immune system causes autoimmune action – a continuous state of high inflammation. Inflammation is now believed to be the cause of almost all chronic diseases. In this article the intention is to show what and how changes happen with a limited spectrum of chronic toxins. In order to do so in a methodical manner, chronic poisons will be divided into five groups as follows.

* Elemental metals

* Elemental non-metals

* Chemicals

* Foods and beverages

* Miscellaneous

Elemental metals - Aluminium, Mercury, Thallium, Lead, Copper

Aluminium

Some of the main problems caused by aluminium were dealt with in Part 1. Three more problems need to be discussed. The first is Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), the second is aluminium in vaccines and the third is aluminium in cosmetics and antiperspirants.

Aluminum is the most abundant metal in the earth’s crust. It is widely distributed in soil, water and air, albeit its tiny quantities in the latter two mediums. It cannot be avoided. But life has evolved and survived with naturally available aluminium. It was not mined then; it is mined and produced now in the mega-tonnage scale. Problems arise from the fact that we have come to use it on a very large scale – in food, beverages, medicines and vaccines. At this level of exposure, the assurance that the aluminium absorbed is very insignificant becomes untenable. It is a fact that aluminium has been found in brain tissues of people who have died of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and Autism, and aluminium salts in cosmetics and antiperspirants have been linked to breast cancer.

In regard to the brain, aluminium as a neurotoxin causes inflammation and damages and kills neurons (brain cells), and their “communication cables”, the synapses. According to research studies published around six years ago, inflammation of neurons is linked to more than a dozen causes; that inflammation triggers a defensive autoimmune reaction, which is the formation of B-amyloid plaque (B-AP) – the hallmark of Alzheimer’s.

The biggest collection of neurons is in the brain and the second biggest collection, according to new research, and surprisingly as well, is in the gut microbiome, not in the central nervous system. That shows the fundamental importance of the gut microbiome – which can be topic to follow.

Current western medicine has no cure for AD. Its research aim was the removal of the B-AP. Not surprisingly that has failed – because even if B-AP is removed, the body will replace it, probably at a higher rate, like with cancer. It is a medical process aimed at the middle of a disease process – not at the root cause. In fact a major pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, ceased research on AD as non-productive. Doctors can only predict when you will die of it. Drugs prescribed to “manage” it have no effect whatsoever – except make you poorer and sicker. However, a new arm of western medicine is stopping, reversing and curing AD from about five years ago.

In regard to the gut microbiome, which is called the second brain, if not the first, inflammation of neurons disrupts essential communication between the gut and the brain via the vagus nerve and an emergency communication route. This disrupts normal metabolic functions related to the brain. Inflammation of other cells affect the production of essential brain chemicals like the hormones serotonin and melatonin, leading to stress, anxiety and depression; severe inflammation leads to a “leaky gut” or - increased intestinal permeability to give the condition its formal name. This is a condition in which improperly digested food, bacteria and toxins can pass through the gut wall into the blood stream and give rise to severe inflammation all over the body. The gut wall is only one cell thick. It is meant to work like a very fine strainer, not as a sieve.

In regard to cosmetics and antidepressants, some of them have aluminium derivatives. Since they are applied in specific locations they cause local inflammation. They have been linked to breast cancer. They get absorbed into the skin, go into the bloodstream and get distributed all over the body, causing overall inflammation, but mostly in the area of application.

Lastly for aluminium in this essay, we’ll take the case of aluminium in vaccines. An undisclosed aluminium compound (trade secret) is used as an adjuvant in vaccines – to increase the potency and activity of the injected partially deactivated virus. This is aluminium directly injected into tissue and bloodstream; it is more inflammatory and disease causing than ingested aluminium.

Mercury

Mercury is a strong poison. The tiny amount of mercury in a clinical/household thermometer can kill a large tree of about 3 feet in trunk diameter in about 6-8 weeks. A whole 3-4 inch thick slab of the trunk at the level at which mercury was inserted, dies and ends up similar to cork.

If a mercury thermometer breaks in a house in the USA, it is mandatory to get down a Haz-Mat (Hazardous Material) Team to clean up. They come fully covered in special suites and gear! In my boyhood I have collected by hand most of the mercury from a broken thermometer and later used it on the tree mentioned above. The residual mercury remained out of sight in the thin gaps of the wooden upstairs floor. That is how ignorant and poorly informed we were then.

There are more glaring examples of ignorance.

Liquid mercury (about 50%) well mixed with Tin, Copper and Silver (an amalgam) is used to fill dental cavities. They are the “silver” fillings in your mouth. They give out mercury vapour every second. They give out more with the intake of hot drinks. It is very advisable to remove them, but that must be done by a properly qualified, trained dentist because none should go down the gullet, the vapour produced must be the absolute minimum and every speck must be removed. This exercise might be impossible in Sri Lanka, and even in some developed countries.

Methyl mercury is another example. A very glaring one. The story can be said to have started in Minamata in Japan, with what came to be called the Minamata Disease. It was described as a neurological condition due to poisoning of the central nervous system, deeply affecting the sense of balance, and muscle control. Videos of afflicted people are too painful to watch as they seem to be in a permanent state of acute convulsions. Serious cases suffered very high fever, convulsions, psychosis, loss of consciousness, coma, and finally a quick death. It has been called the most horrific mercury poisoning disaster the world has ever seen.

Within 50 years of the setting up of a factory near the city the inhabitants experienced and reported unexplained illnesses. Tardy investigations by a nearby university laid the blame on an organic mercury compound which was later identified as methyl mercury in waste water led into the bay by the factory and transferred to people through their seafood. Seafood from the bay was banned. This clearly shows the cumulative effect of chronic toxins manifesting in a sort of crescendo after decades – in this case by mercury, a strong poison, accumulating in tiny quantities.

That was about 60 years ago. Now we are cautioned about eating seafood from almost anywhere. We are advised to eat small fish as their mercury content is low because they do not live long enough to accumulate high concentrations of mercury. How have our freshwater and seawater food sources got so contaminated? They say it is due to vaporized mercury emanating from coal burning power plants and cement kilns. This stands to reason. In Sri Lanka pollution from the Norochcholai power plant has been detected in Nawalapitiya – almost half-way across the island as the crow flies. There is plenty of similar proof from other countries too.

In regard to vaccines, an organic mercury compound is added to multi-dose vaccine vials as a preservative. The preservative used was methyl mercury.

One cannot help wondering whether those responsible haven’t heard of or forgotten the Minamata disaster because there are many reports of children and adults suffering serious reactions including violent convulsions and death after certain vaccinations.

In the book “Toxicological Effects of Methylmercury” put out by the National Research Council (US) Committee on the Toxicological Effects of Methylmercury, it is stated that;

MERCURY (Hg) is a persistent substance that comes from natural and anthropogenic sources. Hg that enters our oceans, lakes, and rivers is converted to methylmercury (MeHg) by aquatic biota and bioaccumulates in aquatic food webs including fish and shellfish. Humans and wildlife are exposed to MeHg primarily through the consumption of contaminated fish, particularly large predatory fish species such as tuna, swordfish, shark, and whale. In humans, MeHg is known to be neurotoxic. The fetus is more sensitive to those effects than the adult (EPA 1997a).

And, in a study reported from Korea, Young-Seoub Honga et al. states “Methylmercury is highly poisionous and the toxicity varies according to its form, inflow path, exposure amount, and individual susceptibility. When a pregnant woman is exposed to methylmercury, it may increase the risk of silent birth and the birth of babies with deformities or severe nervous system diseases, even when the mother does not show any symptoms of poisoning. Accordingly, most developed countries including the US, Canada, and Japan, set and manage recommendation standards for fish and shellfish intake as a part of the protection of vulnerable classes such as pregnant women and infants from methylmercury.”

Then, why add more through vaccines? How can it be assured as safe? Due to severe protests and agitation by the public, methyl mercury has been replaced by an ethyl mercury based preservative called thimerosal. It is said that there is a hardly any difference in toxicity.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control “Thimerosal use in vaccines and other medical products has a record of being very safe. Data from many studies show no evidence of harm caused by the low doses of thimerosal in vaccines.”

This is not entirely true. It may be for the majority, but there are plenty of studies showing women not conceiving for months after a ‘flu shot, of spontaneous abortions – as well as risks mentioned in the Korean study and reactions in children as was seen in Minamata.

The best solution for mercury accumulation is to give up hot drinks if you have amalgam dental fillings, and to detoxify the body regularly. This calls for a little control and discipline. Otherwise it is a relatively cheap and simple process. Many toxic metals can be removed similarly.

If you have to get a vaccine for yourself or a loved one, do not let anybody push you into it. Ask for the package leaflet, read and understand it. Then decide whether to take the vaccine or give it a miss. Better, be informed before the event and decide. Truly, it is a difficult decision.

Thallium

Thallium is also a toxic metal pollutant spread from burning coal. Thallium poisoning symptoms are not well defined because several organs are affected simultaneously, but they are very complex and serious.

In Sri Lanka it is produced in coal power generation and coal fired cement kilns. It deposits as salt derivatives on plants and soil; most salts are highly soluble. The highly soluble salts are more toxic than the less soluble ones. Due to their solubility they are a danger in food crops and groundwater.

Thallium tends to replace potassium in our bodies, disrupting important potassium activated processes. It causes fever, delirium, convulsions and coma, neurological and gastric disorders as well as rapid organ damage particularly of the heart, liver and kidneys. Along with several other disorders, development of psychotic behaviour with hallucinations and dementia has also been reported. A specific symptom is almost total hair loss.

Thallium has been used in cosmetics too as thallium acetate – particularly in hair removal creams in the early 1930s. Women who used it for upper lip hair removal lost hair all over, suffered paralysis and damage to eyes. This use was in spite of the fact that thallium acetate was used as a rat poison too. Thallium salts have been banned in many countries because of their strong toxicity, the dangers of accidental exposure and tendencies to use them for murder. This is an example that should warn consumers NOT to believe health assurances from manufacturers and marketers.

However, even the latest and best cosmetic brands have thallium in some products; these are not additives but are impurities present in traces. No one knows what effects they have on health because no safety tests have been carried out. Ladies are referred to the following article for more details on this research. https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/06/04/new-study...

It is assumed that readers are well aware of the toxicities of lead and copper. They are not in very wide use now, too, especially in daily life. Therefore they will not be discussed.